Synopses & Reviews
In recent years, members of legal, law enforcement, media and academic circles have portrayed rape as a special kind of crime distinct from other forms of violence. In
Framing the Rape Victim, Carine M. Mardorossian argues that this differential treatment of rape has exacerbated the ghettoizing of sexual violence along gendered lines and has repeatedly led to womenandrsquo;s being accused of triggering, if not causing, rape through immodest behavior, comportment, passivity, or weakness.
Contesting the notion that rape is the result of deviant behaviors of victims or perpetrators, Mardorossian argues that rape saturates our culture and defines masculinityandrsquo;s relation to femininity, both of which are structural positions rather than biologically derived ones. Using diverse examples throughout, Mardorossian draws from Hollywood film and popular culture to contemporary womenandrsquo;s fiction and hospitalized birth emphasizing that the position of dominant masculinity can be occupied by men, women, or institutions, while structural femininity is a position that may define and subordinate men, minorities, and other marginalized groups just as effectively as it does women.and#160; Highlighting the legacies of the politically correct debates of the 1990s and the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the book illustrates how the framing of the term andldquo;victimandrdquo; has played a fundamental role in constructing notions of agency that valorize autonomy and support exclusionary, especially masculine, models of American selfhood.
The gendering of rape, including by well-meaning, sometimes feminist, voices that claim to have victimsandrsquo; best interests at heart, ultimately obscures its true role in our culture. Both a critical analysis and a call to action, Framing the Rape Victim shows that rape is not a special interest issue that pertains just to women but a pervasive one that affects our society as a whole.
Review
"From Seneca Falls to hip-hop, this striking collection pushes us to rethink the who, what, when, where, and why of U.S. feminist history. The wide-ranging essays toss out the overly tidy generational model and replace it with complex, rich, and inclusive accounts of our feminist past. Highly recommended."
Review
"An important contribution to the ongoing dialogue on the meaning of feminism and its application not just within the academy, but also to a larger and more general political, social, and intellectual forum. Recommended."
Review
"As an intellectual enterprise the book successfully established the overlapping and intertwined configurations of feminist movements from the 1840s to the present. Hewitt's book is a compelling guide to contemporary interpretations of American feminisms. Its thought-provoking essays will be especially useful in classroom distussions about historical practice."
Review
"
No Permanent Waves offers not only crucial information on the histories of feminism but also evidence for new historiographical claims about how feminism relates to itself across time, positionality, race, region, class, sexuality, occupation, and especially generation. Featuring a range of essays on manifestations of feminism and their relationships to time and generation,
No Permanent Waves demonstrated the strength of attending to difference."
Review
andldquo;With a distinctive, innovative, and powerful feminist voice, Mardorossian makes a fantastic contribution to the scholarship on sexual violence that will excite much interest and fuel many debates.
Framing the Rape Victim is simply brilliant.andrdquo;
Review
andquot;Mardorossian powerfully illustrates how aversion to 'victimand#160;rhetoric' has valorized agency but ignored the waysand#160;political and culturaland#160;institutions shape experiences of choice, consent, autonomy, and vulnerability.andquot;
Review
andquot;Aand#160;powerful critique.andquot;
Synopsis
No Permanent Waves boldly enters the ongoing debates over the utility of the "wave" metaphor for capturing the complex history of women's rights by offering fresh perspectives on the diverse movements that comprise U.S. feminism, past and present. Seventeen essays--both original and reprinted--address continuities, conflicts, and transformations among women's movements in the United States from the early nineteenth century through today.
A respected group of contributors from diverse generations and backgrounds argue for new chronologies, more inclusive conceptualizations of feminist agendas and participants, and fuller engagements with contestations around particular issues and practices. Race, class, and sexuality are explored within histories of women's rights and feminism as well as the cultural and intellectual currents and social and political priorities that marked movements for women's advancement and liberation. These essays question whether the concept of waves surging and receding can fully capture the complexities of U.S. feminisms and suggest models for reimagining these histories from radio waves to hip-hop.
Synopsis
No Permanent Waves boldly enters the ongoing debates over the utility of the "wave" metaphor for capturing the complex history of women's rights by offering fresh perspectives on the diverse movements that comprise U.S. feminism, past and present. Seventeen essays--both original and reprinted--address continuities, conflicts, and transformations among women's movements in the United States from the early nineteenth century through today.
Synopsis
and#160;In recent years, members of legal, law enforcement, media and academic circles have portrayed rape as a special kind of crime distinct from other forms of violence. In
Framing the Rape Victim, Carine M. Mardorossian argues that this differential treatment of rape has exacerbated the ghettoizing of sexual violence along gendered lines. Both a critical analysis and a call to action,
Framing the Rape Victim shows that rape is not a special interest issue that pertains just to women but a pervasive one that affects our society as a whole.
About the Author
NANCY A. HEWITT is a professor of history and women's and gender studies at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Her books include Women's Activism and Social Change: Rochester, New York, 1822–1872; Southern Discomfort: Women's Activism in Tampa, Florida, 1880–1920s; and A Companion to American Women's History.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I: Reframing Narratives/Reclaiming Histories
Chapter 1. From Seneca Falls to Suffrage?
Chapter 2. Multiracial Feminism
Chapter 3. Black Feminisms and Human Agency
“We Have a Long, Beautiful History”
Chapter 5. Unsettling “Third Wave Feminism”
Part II: Coming Together/Pulling Apart
Chapter 6. Overthrowing the “Monopoly of the Pulpit”
Chapter 7. Labor Feminists and President Kennedy’s Commission on Women
Chapter 8. Expanding the Boundaries of the Women’s Movement
Chapter 9. Rethinking Global Sisterhood
Chapter 10. Living a Feminist Lifestyle
Chapter 11. Strange Bedfellows
Chapter 12. From Sisterhood to Girlie Culture
Part III: Rethinking Agendas/Relocating Activism
Chapter 13. Staking Claims to Independence
Chapter 14. “I Had Not Seen Women Like That Before”
Chapter 15. The Hidden History of Affirmative Action
Chapter 16. U.S. Feminism—Grrrl Style!
Chapter 17. “Under Construction”